"Voting for Mills is vote for Jerry" -ex-PNDC man

Accra (Greater Accra) 31 October 2002 - A former Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) operative, Captain Felix Nii Okai, has stated that a vote for Professor John Evans Atta Mills in the upcoming congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as flagbearer for the party would mean a vote for the return of ex-President Jerry Rawlings to power through the backdoor.

Captain Felix Okai was speaking to Chronicle in an interview in Accra last Friday evening. The former AFRC operative who would not say whether he belonged to the Botchwey camp or Mill’s told the paper there would be no point for delegates voting for Prof Mills when all it would do is result in a situation where the NDC and the party, by extension, would be having two presidents and two first ladies.

“We are convinced that a vote for Jerry Rawlings would mean a return of ex-President Rawlings to power through the backdoor. This is something we must avoid if the party is to move forward. I don’t think we would be happy ourselves if we are to have two first ladies and two presidents in the country.”

He argued that Prof Mills, like Prof Albert Adu Boahen in 1992, lost because he as a candidate did not have a “World Bank” constituency that would deliver through to victory. “The Prof Mills situation is like that of Adu Boahen who thought he was a good candidate to pull his whole region behind him to garner the vital votes needed to win the presidential elections.

“The New Patriotic Party (NPP) noted their mistake and went for J.A. Kufuor, who had a strong regional support and who eventually won the NPP the presidency. A vote for Prof Mills, therefore, would mean a vote for the NPP in 2004 elections.

Captain Okai does not believe Atta Mills has the money to prosecute elections and so would be compelled to depend on Jerry Rawlings and the former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings. “There are genuine dangers in depending on the former first couple who may be tempted to bring undue influence to bear on his (Mills) administration,” he argued.

On projecting Mills’ opponent as a better candidate, Capt Okai stated, “Kwesi Botchwey understands the economy better and would not afford to be dictated to by anybody.” He also defended the charge against Dr Kwesi Botchwey to the effect that he left mid-stream when the going got tough.

“The man left the office, not the party. He has since continued to be a member of the party. He would not supervise corruption, and if he had been listened to, the party would not be having on its head the virus called fast track courts, currently afflicting some of our top members.”

Urging the delegates to “go for the gold,” the retired army officer reminded party leaders and cadres to remember that under Kwesi Botchwey, Ghana’s economy grew fastest since independence.